There has been a lot of questions around extended schools, and the opportunities for the volunatry sector. It is one of those discussions that will have whole lot of issues either way. Mark sent me the following quote which raises some of the questions well.
“Not all of this is bad, it says, but the underlying ‘deal’ is
unhealthy. It solves the churches’ loss of identity and role by making
them surrogates for the government (with resulting clashes over human
rights and fairness) and it allows the government to ‘contract out’
welfare provision without addressing underlying questions of injustice
and the rich-poor divide.”
However my general feeling is that extended schools is the first part of a shifting culture towards more voluntary involvement and ownership. The pro’s and con’s of this are debatable but in all probabilty the shift will continue and extended schools is happening already. Therefore we need to consider the challange and recognise the responsibility. If the voluntary sector does not engage I could easily see private enterprise moving in. In the past the christian voluntary sector has been slow to respond and missed opportunities. There is a question about how we engage and promoting good youth work and christian values as part of engagement?
If you want more information on extended schools try a couple of these links:
Schools Training and Development website A good outline that takes you through all the key areas.
NYA Briefing Part of their series looking at various policies with helpful guidance for youth work organisations that what to position themselves for extended provision
Third Sector is short hand for a lot of the direction the government are heading, and their desire to see the voluntarty sector get on board. Check out here for a Speech by Phil Woolas MP to the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) on 22 June 2006 titled FRAMEWORK FOR STRENGTHENING THE THIRD SECTOR’S ROLE IN LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY.
One response is here for a critque from the guardian